Film Review: "Last Vegas" (2013).

"It's going to be legendary" in Last Vegas. This comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub, and written by Dan Fogelman. Four friends take a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal.

By October 2012, Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen were cast. Initially, Jack Nicholson was attached to the project for the role of Billy in early development. Christopher Walken and Dustin Hoffman were considered for the role of Sam. Though the four male leads had crossed paths before at various times in their careers, this marks the first ever joint venture for all four men. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Atlanta, Georgia.

The film stars Douglas, De Niro, Freeman, Kline and Steenburgen. Its stars are such pros, they're so enormously charismatic and have such lovely chemistry with each other, it's hard not to be charmed by their mere presence on screen. All three stars deliver exactly what you expect from them -- nothing more, nothing new - but their onscreen familiarity is a strange comfort in itself. Yes, it's good to see these wonderful actors get together in, well, almost anything, but this broken-down jalopy of a movie is not, to put it charitably, an ideal vehicle.

A thoroughly unfunny misfire, Last Vegas manages the incredible feat of wasting more than a century of combined acting experience from its three talented leads. Originality is not the purpose of the film, the kind of old-fashioned entertainment that gives old-fashioned entertainment a bad name. The film is light on laughs and plays it safe far too often. It's dramatically and comically impotent. This wheezy comedy inspires little more than melancholy reminiscences of all four men's earlier work. Scripts this bad will sometimes seem fun with enough enthusiasm behind or in front of the camera, but the star power on display isn't enough to make this anything but a (hopefully) forgettable misstep for all involved. The film is a ghastly, ramshackle mess, lurching from gag to clunking gag and exacerbated by David Hennings' harsh cinematography, making everyone look considerably older than they are. An unfunny comedy that wastes a great, talented cast. Fun up to a point, but the joke wears so thin by the end that even the actors seem sick of it. It's a lame comedy is an utterly useless misfire that brings out the worst in all parties involved. It flirts with the dangers of the real world and is happy to nod to and momentarily invoke the zeitgeist but it ultimately decides to err on the side of safety. The film's weak script trips up a capable director and four legendary actors. Among the wisest things ever said about old age will always be the immortal dictum of Bette Davis: "Old age ain't for sissies." It also ain't for people whose skills have vanished completely but are pretending they haven't."

Simon says Last Vegas receives:

Film Review: "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (2014).

“You're not just an analyst anymore, Jack. You're operational now.” Which is what Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit offers this summer. This Russian-American action thriller film is directed by and co-starring Kenneth Branagh and featuring the Jack Ryan character created by Tom Clancy. It is the fifth in the Jack Ryan film series and is also a reboot that departs from the previous installments. Unlike its predecessors it is not an adaptation of a particular Tom Clancy novel, but rather an original story. In this scenario, Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

The film stars Chris Pine in the title role, Keira Knightley as Cathy Muller (Ryan's fiancé), Kevin Costner as Thomas Harper and Kenneth Branagh as Viktor Cherevin, the film's main antagonist. The performances in this film were all superbly acted. Pine stars in the title role, becoming the fourth actor to play Ryan, following Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck. He delivered a great portrayal of the character, he had the gritty attitude of Ford, the boy scout, good looks of Affleck, but he reminded me the most of Baldwin when the character was introduced for the first time to the world. As Pine's portrayal is to a whole new generation. Pine once again demonstrates what a solid, convincing actor he is. He injected a commanding sense of decency and humanity to the role of CIA analyst Jack Ryan, making it his own. Under taut direction from Kenneth Branagh (who also plays the Russian heavy), Pine is convincing as a character who is pushing papers one day and dodging assassins in Moscow the next. Knightley gave a brilliant portrayal after inheriting the role after Gates McFadden in The Hunt for Red October (1990), Anne Archer in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), and Bridget Moynahan in The Sum of All Fears (2002). In here we get to see the early stage of the relationship and romance between Cathy and Jack before the latter stages in the previous subsequent films. Costner gave a great performance as the CIA agent Thomas Harper, Jack's mentor. Lastly, Branagh as the film's central villain Viktor Cherevin. He gave a terrific performance as I genuinely felt that he was Russian due to preparation and dedication for the role. He spoke flawless Russian for the role, which amazed me. No wonder why he is one of the great actors and directors of his background and generation.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit delights in an almost boyish way in the trappings of power: Russian villains and weapons of mass destruction, flags, ceremonies and political double-speak. However, the film is all plot and not enough characters. The people running around on screen have about as much depth as the sheen of sweat on Chris Pine's forehead. Jack Ryan is not much impressive himself. He's somewhat disgustingly virtuous: a flawless fighter for good and justice, a Superman without the cape. I spent half the movie wondering if this guy was ever going to show anything to mark him as vaguely human. But the film does offer a reasonably sleek and diverting reboot to the long dormant franchise.

Simon says Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit receives:

Film Review: "Short Term 12" (2013).

"Support them. Take care of them. But don't become their friend." This is Short Term 12. This drama film written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and based on Cretton's 2009 short film of the same name. Calm and competent, Grace is a young counsellor at a California care unit for at-risk teens. However, her cool facade begins to crack in the pressure cooker atmosphere as she and some of the unruly residents are reminded of past and present abuses.

The film was originally conceived by Cretton as a short film based on his experiences as a line staff worker at a group facility for teenagers where he had worked for two years; it served as his thesis project for his master's degree in film at San Diego State University. The short film ran for twenty-two minutes and premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking. After graduating from film school, Cretton decided to adapt the short into a feature-length screenplay, which won one of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' five Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting in 2010. The largest change Cretton made when adapting the short film into a longer screenplay was changing the lead character's gender: Denim, a man loosely based on Cretton himself, became Grace, a young woman and the facility's supervisor. Cretton researched similar facilities and interviewed former employees for the film, noting that the script featured stories directly told by children in these facilities from his interviews. By September 2012, Brie Larson, John Gallagher, Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Keith Stanfield, Melora Walters and Stephanie Beatriz were cast. Larson auditioned for the role of Grace via Skype after the script had been sent to her. Larson tried to convince Cretton to cast her by telling him that she had applied to volunteer with disadvantaged children to research the role. Cretton was impressed, and Larson did not reveal until later that she had been rejected by every organization to which she had applied. Larson and Gallagher prepared for their roles by shadowing line staff at a group home similar to that in the film, and collaborated to create backstories for their characters. Stanfield was the only actor from the original short film to reprise his role in the feature. Cretton struggled to contact Stanfield when casting the film in 2012—Stanfield had stopped acting, left his managers, and did not own a cell phone—but Cretton was eventually able to reach him by email to tape an audition. Most of the children featured in the film were cast through open casting calls, and most had no prior acting experience. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place in Los Angeles, California.

The film stars Larson, Gallagher, Jr., Dever, Malek, Stanfield, Walters and Beatriz. Though it's not a perfect film, there's an authenticness to it that I can't quite pin down-I think it's because it's layered with lots of severely amazing performances.

The film is the kind of lovingly crafted, deeply affecting drama that gives small indie films a good name.

Simon says Short Term 12 receives:

Film Review: "The Book Thief" (2013).

From the first view of the trailer, you are asked "If your eyes could speak, what would they say?” Which is exactly what The Book Thief attempts to answer. This American drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Markus Zusak, directed by Brian Percival and adapted by Michael Petroni. While subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.

The novel is written by Australian author Markus Zusak. The book is narrated by Death, it is set in Nazi Germany, a place and time when the narrator notes he was extremely busy. It describes a young girl's relationship with her foster parents, the other residents of their neighborhood, and a young Jewish man who hides in her home during the escalation of World War II. First published in 2005, the book has won numerous awards and was listed on the The New York Times Best Seller list for over 230 weeks.

The film stars Emily Watson, Geoffrey Rush, Sophie Nélisse, Ben Schnetzer and Nico Liersch. The performances in this film were the driving forces in order to compensate for the typical Hollywood trans-mortified plot. Watson gave a great performance as the 'thunderous' wife and mother, Rosa Hubermann. Rush also gave a fine performance as the loving, light-hearted father Hans Hubermann. Nélisse gave the finest performance of all as the film's protagonist and tackling a delicate subject matter as this despite being only fourteen years old. Schnetzer gave a touching performance as the Jewish refugee and friend of Liesel, Max. Liersch also gave a fine performance as childish friend, Rudy.

In some ways, The Book Thief is undeniably powerful. The film is a stunning tribute to Zusak’s novel. It’s dramatically moving thanks to its well-acted performances and John Wiliiams’ score. However, it’s a bit too safe in its handling of its Nazi Germany setting, it offends some holocaust survivors, communists and Jews with its lack of authentic portrayal of the Holocaust. What may be most offensive to them is its sidestepping of politics and history in favor of simple human storytelling. But perhaps that impassive quality reflects what director Percival wants to say. By showing Szpilman as a survivor but not a fighter or a hero—as a man who does all he can to save himself, but would have died without enormous good luck and the kindness of a few non-Jews—Polanski is reflecting... his own deepest feelings: that he survived, but need not have, and that his mother died and left a wound that had never healed. It may be one of the best dramatic feature I've seen on the Holocaust experience, so powerful a statement on war, inhumanity and literature's survival. It illustrates that theme and proves that the film’s own love for literature has survived the chaos of that period -- and the hell that war and bigotry once made of it.

Simon says The Book Thief receives: